For a soaked grain tortilla, add 1 tablespoons of whey, yogurt or cider vinegar, mix dough the day before and leave at room temperature until you are ready to cook it.

Divide the dough into however many quesadillas you want. We make seven, two for each adult, one for each Bobby and Daniel, and one for Dan's lunch the next day. Roll the dough into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, just symmetrical. Then, fry it in a dry pan on both sides.

Now, for the filling. Quesadillas can have anything you want as long as it includes cheese. We like to spread cream cheese on one half when we have it. Then start loading in meat, veggies and spices, then put more cheese on top.

You can use whatever cheese you have, whatever fillings you have. It's great for using up leftovers. When you've got your ingredients assembled, fold the tortilla over. Fry it in a hot pan, flipping it over halfway through, until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy.

I'd be interested in hearing more about how you cook your tortillas. I tried your recipe once and they came out pretty crispy. I was expecting something more soft and pliable like the store bought ones.

Is that just the nature of teh homemade ones or did I do something wrong?

Thanks for posting, I was just looking for a recipe for tortillas to make with black bean burritos tonight. My husband's family makes homemade tortillas but their cost is more than the store bought ones. Hoping these will meet his expectations. Kristi

Oh please. Emily is brilliant in this whole scheme. She knows what pushes people's buttons and that is what she does. She knows that she makes money from the comments. People come here to read the comments, they can't do that with a blog reader. Emily doesn't get money from people who use a blog reader. Of course she was going to eventually allow unmoderated commenting. Anything to make more money for Dan the Man to have his DVD's while the kids get a freakin' tooth brush for Christmas, or as Dan says "Christmast"

I had saved your tortilla recipe last night, and actually made them today. I wanted to make tacos tonight, but wanted to try out the tortillas ahead of time. They are great! My daughter won't stop eating them plain. But now I can't decide between tacos and quesadillas. :D

We love quesadillas. I don't make my tortillas from scratch though. Emily, when I went to Target the other day I found the car muffin tins but they were HUGE. I think that if I used them to make crayons that my kids couldn't even hold them. My oldest is 6 but I don't think even my hand would fit around them. Did you have luck with making them into crayons? I would love to know how your kids handled them. I found an ADORABLE dinosaur tin and they were a little smaller and had places to grasp. I haven't bought it yet because I was curious how yours turned out.

This summer I learned how to make homemade quesadillas the same way you do. I just wanted to add that these are a really great and inexpensive food to make if you're having people over for a party or get together. You can just cut them into smaller wedges and put them on a serving tray or plate. For the filling, I typically buy chicken leg quarters on sale, roast them in the oven, and then remove the meat from the bones. I chop up the meat and mix it with taco seasoning and cooked onions and garlic.

Not that it is worth my time, but this is for Anonymous who seems to need a job. Attacking someone on their blog with rude Anonymous comments is cowardly. Grow up and find something else more productive to do with your time.

I am the anonymous who asked about her childs bruises. I work for a children's agency and I am a mandated reporter. If I knew Emily's name and where she lived, I would most certainly report her. This family needs to be investigated and given the help they need to make proper parenting choices. A safety plan needs to be put in place for those children.

Oh and Emily, comment moderation would be a good idea, or at least not allowing anonymous comments for a while. Having anonymous stalkers are counter productive to what you are trying to do here. Blessings,Anita

Hi Emily, I agree with the commentor who asked if you had someone to moderate for you. I volunteer for that position if you don't have anybody else! ; ) Ok, I am joking but am also serious. I am going to have to stop reading the comments at all until I can be assured that I won't be assaulted when I come by. Those hideously deranged comments by Mean Anon & Co are not just affecting you, they are affecting your readers. And I know you don't want to hurt your readers--or your readership. So even if you have developed a thick skin about it, please shield the rest of us from the evil!

So please consider some kind of comment moderation again! Your comments section is usually full of valuable information and I will miss it. : )

With love and wishing your family (and your blog) all of God's blessings the end of this year and in the next!

If I see abuse or neglect, I am ethically obligated to report whether I am working or not. There is clearly neglect here, and most likely abuse. The fact that Emily won't answer how her child got those bruises (dozens of bruises I might add) is highly suspicious.

It is my job as a human being to protect children whether I am on the clock or not.

I've made tortillas, too, and the best ones I've ever had were handmade, served with beans, nopales (cactus), cilantro and lime wedges while serving a mission in Mexico. Delicious! I still think about those nopales. :) Quesadilla night would be a good place to add beans to your diet. They're inexpensive and filling.

I make lentil tacos, too, and they are a big hit. Very inexpensive and flavorful, and even my meat eating husband has asked for seconds. I use the recipe for Tasty Lentil Tacos from allrecipes.com.

Other than the peppers sometimes in the quesadillas, are you not serving vegetables with them? A lot of the comments have been for the general nutritional standard of your meals, and the startling lack of vegetables with your meals is a concern. Are your kids eating five fruits and veggies each day? Do you give the kids vitamins to make up for the lack of vegetables?

I am asking sincerely, not as a snark. Even a high protein menu relies on fruits and veggies to get in the nutrients a healthy body needs.

We eat too many tortillas to make them. I can get them fresh made at the Hispanic Market around the corner. Saturday we had crab quesadillas with pepper jack and gouda. Being in a Hispanic area we can get good fresh food when ever we want.

We use dehydrated mushrooms and lots of cheese in ours. Just rehydrate them and it's like having meat in your quesadilla. My DH is a pro at making skirt steak burritos with fresh guacamole and lots of chopped tomatos, onions, and frijoles.

To little Miss child protective services...you are basing your facts on assumptions, which is typical of your government department. Accusations based on little or no facts will not hold up in a court of law. But harassment, stalking and defaming of character will.

you guys are nuts. It's a small picture in black and white, it could be a whole host of things. Did you ever think of psoriasis? birth marks? Vitiligo? Dirt? Perhaps he had just enjoyed a fun game of finger painting with his brother? I have worked with abused children and guess what, the parents are smart and know what they are doing is wrong. They know how to hide it. The likelyhood of someone that abuses their kid putting pictures of the abuse on the open web is very slim, especially with someone as educated as Emily seems. (Notice how that same picture is the picture she chose for her little family logo on the side? If it was truly massive amounts of bruises from abuse, don't you think she would have chosen a different picture? )

As for the food...Sure they don't eat as many fruits and vegetables as they ideally would, but how many Americans do? Not many. Her food is not neglect. Not in a long shot. Become a social worker and you will see real neglect.

Hi Emily, I have been following your blog for a couple of months now and have noticed that your recopies contain mostly carbs and meat. I was wondering what fruits and vegetables your family eats. I see a couple on your grocery list, but they are very limited and most are starchy and not the super fruits and veggies that keep bodies healthy. Do you serve sides with your meals? What would you serve along with the quesadilla?

Oh gees, come on people! Yes her carpet is dirty. So what? Want to come and see my house? You would have a heart attack. I don't have 3 children to look after, I don't do nearly as much from scratch as she does and my house is way dirtier. Sometimes making crayons in the shape of cars for your kids is more important then vacuuming! In addition, when I was her kids ages I would have 2 baths a week. I would scream and fuss when I had a bath, so I was probably dirtier then her kids. I also didn't eat much in the way of fruit and veggies. I still don't, if we are being honest, but I have grown up to be a decent person. Further, I can't see any bruises. Maybe I am wrong, but I would think that she would not put up photos like that on the internet...

Emily, I don't agree with you often (or maybe at all) but you don't deserve to be called negletful. A little naive perhaps, but not negletful.

No Debbie, they don't. Because that would cost too much and then Emily would be upset for spending the extra 7.5 cents.

It's better to just let them slowly develop malnutrition than spend that extra money! Daddys gotta have his milkshakes!

And ahhhh, yea, those sure as heck look like fingerprint bruises to me- and this is coming from someone who has HAD fingerprint bruises before. I'm starting to understand the use of primarily black and white pictures of the kids on this blog.

You people should be ashamed of yourselves, do any of you people that are making comments about the "abuse/neglect" even have children? I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old and sometimes when im changing there clothes I notice bruises on them and wonder were they came from, my girls are VERY active and get bruises from not watching were they are going or running into things when they are chasing each other, I do not hit them and neither does anyone else, and as far as what she feeds her family, next time your in a grocery store and behind someone in line that is using food stamps look at what kind of crap they have in there cart, because 9 times out of 10 it is full of processed crap, that is loaded with high fructose corn syrup, aspartame , and lots of other things that your body does not even know is food. Emily is feeding her family whole foods, did you ever think that the fruits and veggies that she buys are the one's her family will eat.

Why yes, I do have children. Four of them, to be exact. And every summer they're covered in bruises. But they're on the normal/active kid spots of their bodies...knees, shins, elbows. Not on the forearm, and not in the shape of fingers.

Seriously, grow up. If you are concerned, do your freaking job and make a phone call? How exactly are you helping these children by posting on a message board? Is that in your job description.

If you think there is abuse, then make the calls and get someone out there.

You won't though because you know that when you do they will find your claim unfounded completely.

One of my children has a black eye right now and the other a big bruise on their chest and a broken toenail. I haven't bathed them since two days before Christmas and this morning they had crackers and cheese for breakfast.

I would love to try making tortillas - it sounds easy! But, can you do it with something other than shortening?? That hydrogenated stuff is awful for you. I usually use butter or coconut oil.. would either of those work?

I am assuming the people that are trolling live for others to comment on their comments. How sad but true.

My personal opinion would be that everyone just ignore the negative anonymous commenters as if they don't exist. Don't give them feedback and maybe they will go away if they are not getting an audience.

This has tempted me to try to make tortillas, we love them and normally will have been burritos or quesadillas a few times a week. I know that originally they tortillas were made with lard, not shortening and they taste very good, but health concerns will make me try the shortening. I like your blog, though I do not always agree with you, but you have some realy psychos who like to comment don't you.

Just because someone is concerned about the well-being of her children does not make them "psychos". I love that all of you so-called Christian folk are so quick to judge those that are genuinely concerned for a childs welfare. I'm sorry but those bruises are pretty unmistakable to someone that has lived through it before.

How is she supposed to report someone online? How many Emily's live in the state of Maine? That's all we know about this blogger, that her name is Emily and that she lives in Maine and is married to a guy named Dan who works at Walmart.

It's pretty clear that Emily enjoys the money and popularity she gets from her controversial blog posts. If she moderated comments or stopped being antagonistic toward her readers, her blog would quickly die out.

Maine is a small state, and there are enough folks chatting about this blog that its actually pretty easy to figure out who she is exactly since both she and her hubby have blogs. Besides her hubby states there location in his and I am almost certain I have ran into them.

The pitfalls of being a blogger especially in a state like Maine is that folks will know who you are.

I think having 'anonymous' as a name is making a few people awfully brave. It's easier to be an executioner with a black mask over your head.

One of the things you learn working with potential abuse cases is that you don't antagonize the parents until an intervention and assessment can be done. Reason being that the parents may take the resulting frustration out on the child before the child can be moved to safety. I'm not saying what my beliefs are in terms of whether there is abuse going on here or not - I'm just saying that if 'anonymous' feels so strongly that there is that possibility - and really wants to be helpful to the child - perhaps they should stick to the training they've received and not antagonize the parents. Do the research, gather the evidence, and file the report - but don't antagonize the parents until the child is in a safe place. Your absolute senseless bashing of this blog and Emily is not productive. Your failure to use a screen name is cowardly. If you have a blog of your own you'd like to offer up for critique as you have done here, please feel free to supply a link.

I was just wondering when you would update your two-week menu links to include your Johnny Mazzetti and quesadilla recipes? I'm interested in trying the Johnny Mazzetti. I've never had it before, and it sounds interesting.

Emily,My daughter has exczema very badly. We keep it controlled with a prescription for steroid cream. It get worse if it is really hot or really cold. That looks a lot like hers does sometimes. I have a lot of tricks to help it if you are interested. I'm not sure if that was what it was or not but just in case I thought I would throw that out there.

Emily I have a question about dinner at your house. Do you allow anyone to have a second helping if they are still hungry? Do you use the stove to cook anything? PS a Crockpot uses more energy than an oven.

Emily, I love your blog. I also try to be very frugal. Love your tips and inspiration. We also love Jesus. I'm a SAHM to 3 homeschooled boys who don't eat a ton of veggies either (but I snuck some spinach into the meatloaf tongight)

Tacos and quesadllas are favorites in our house too. My kids can be picky vegetable eaters, so I sneak it into their food as much as I can. When I make the filling for tacos, I add some tomato sauce and a pureed vegetable, usually some type of squash. No one complains, and my husband actually prefers it this way, as it make the filling more moist. Tacos are also the only way my son will eat lettuce and raw tomatoes. For quesadillas, I mix pureed vegetable into the filling again, usually some type of squash, and whole corn because the kids will eat it. I also include white beans or kidney beans and mash them up a bit. They may not get a complete serving of vegetables, but it's more than if they refuse to eat vegetables on the side of the plate. I got these ideas from a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. It is based on pureeing fruits and vegetables and then freezing to add to meals later on.

I'm a social worker too, and a mandated reporter. One thing I've learned in my work is to make sure that I don't let my own life color my perception of others. Not to jump to conclusions. I've had to call CPS or the police on more than one occassion, especially in relation to my work as a substance abuse counselor. It's never fun or pretty. A kid sleeping on the floor is hardly neglect. Neither is dirty fingernails or a rash. And neither is being poor, which is what this really boils down to. Social workers are college-educated professionals, and so live in a totally different realm from most of the people they serve. It's super important to step back and make sure that you aren't letting your feelings about poverty inform your opinions.

Anon on seconds, with this meal, we make as much as what people usually eat. With most meals, people take what they want and there are enough leftovers for Dan's work the next day. When the seven quesadillas become insufficient for this, I will just roll the dough into eight tortillas.

For people bashing on the nutrition of Emily's diet, I would bet that the nutrition macronutrients of her diet are the same or better than of the average reader here. Some of us may buy higher quality ground beef, but we may also buy oreos, ice cream, and cheezits, which contain saturated fats. They do eat a very limited variety of fruits and veggies, but I do see that all the different colors (vitamins) are represented. Lack of selection does not equal lack of nutrition. For those of you curious about your day's worth of nutrition, you can go to fitday.com . The database there contains lots of foods with nutrition data already there (you can customize it for a specific food) . It will tell you fats/calories/carbs/vitamins/minerals.

You see this kind of junk all the time from the liberals. They start off all huffy and then they always seem to end up wanting to call child protective services. It would be funny except it is tragic.They don't want the freedom to live their lives. They want to control yours. Down to what you feed your kids and where you live. I have 8, soon to be 9 kids. You would not believe the comments I get from ignorant liberals about my family. They spend most of their day minding other peoples business and keeping their hen pecked husbands in line by making sure their dh's "do their share".For all the contempt spewed at conservative Christians I would not change places with a "typical American woman" for a second.

"They don't want the freedom to live their lives. They want to control yours. "

Ironic. I could say the same about Conservatives... after all, they're the ones working to keep same sex adults from having legal rights, to keep them from being able to adopt, limiting access to birth control and other reproductive options...but, yes, it's all about us crazy Liberals trying to control your life!

so sad to see all the crud going on here, what started out as a fun journey for you emily, has turned real ugly. i do agree that comment moderation is turned off, so you can see other points, even thought they are immature, judgemental, and stoopid. why should anyone care enough to stalk you and your husband, and critique your life. i thought blogs were for the exchange of sound info, and some intellectual exchange...not a beatdown. anyway, your dinners look o.k. to me, but be prpared..as those boys grow, they are gonna eat you out of house and home...trust me! and i also think people dont get that your income is going to rise, as you get oldr,i cant even tell you what my husband made when we were your age, but i was to stay home and raise my kids, not some daycare, so sacrifices need to be made, i get that.

Jessica-Maine, that's what kills me! Writing a blog about how high and mighty your choices are when people who are actually working hard to support their families are subsidizing your lifestyle! I hope that more taxpayers find out about this and become outraged at the 6,000 this welfare queen takes from the government. Two adults who are victims of very little systematic oppression (white, raised middle/upper middle class, access to basic education, even some form of (pitiful) higher education, intact family, little exposure to racial and economic violence) using the system to support themselves. Such a shame.

i dont recall reading where this family subscribes to public assitance? how are they 'taking" six thousand a year? my parents, myself, my husbands parents, and my husband, now 2 of my children, are all 'paying into the system', so all the illegals and welfare frauds can abuse it....blame the politicians, not emily, as im sure her parents have paid into it too....you need to look at ALL the angles, not only one..

Wow. Well, with all this talk of welfare queens and welfare frauds, I think I'm outta here. I'm gonna go enjoy blowing my EIC on coke and whores and using my daughter's Medicaid to... I dunno how to abuse that but since I am a dirty poor person that doesn't know how to pull myself up by my bootstraps, I'm sure there is SOME WAY I can abuse you poor, poor people's tax dollars. lol.

There's a huge difference between using tax money to "pull yourself up" versus continuing to get it while not doing shit for your life, like Emily the Welfare Queen is doing. The whole point of welfare and governmental assistance is to provide people with money and support while they improve themselves, not dole out money so they can sit on their asses, pop out kids, and worship their barely functioning janitor husband. I know the welfare system doesn't always work like it should, and that tons of people abuse and take advantage of it. Most of them just don't start blogs and pat themselves on the back for being Christian about their abuse.

Emily said... sunnymommy, I use melted butter. Shortening is a synonym for any fat for me. Sorry!

Oh! Please, please be detailed and exact in your posts! I don't read your blog for the entertainment factor, etc. I read it to see what you are doing that is cheap and healthy and I could learn to do for my own family. I'm sure there are many others who are here for the same purpose. Especially recipe posts please make them step by step and extremely detailed about exactly how you do it.

I made the tortilla dough last night using coconut oil and soaked it with a little whey. I am so excited to see how they come out for dinner. We have left over meat sauce from spaghetti and so it will be kind of like pizzadillas. This is the first time I've made tortillas from scratch and the first time I've soaked anything!

As far as soaking goes, I think I have it figured out for recipes where the liquid called for is water (just start with that and the flour and add a bit of whey/ACV/lemon juice). But, what about recipes where the liquid is milk and not water? Do you know anything about that? We get fresh, raw milk from a local farmer and so we make just about everything (bread, pancakes, etc) with milk instead of water. Can I just combine the flour and milk with the acidic bit and leave it out overnight? I am thinking so since it's raw milk and only gets better for you when left out (on it's way to curds and whey) although I don't know if you could do it with pasturized milk. What do you think?

sunnymommy, I would think raw milk would do the same thing as whey or yogurt. Nourishing Traditions suggests using "buttermilk, kefir or yogurt" in recipes like pancakes and muffins. I use regular milk with some whey, or unstrained yogurt if I just made some.

I can't believe you would read anonymous postings on a blog that has nothing to do with politics and ASSUME somehow they are liberals??? HUH?

When you start thinking the opposition party to you is evil and what's wrong with the world that's when you need to step away from Glenn Beck and Fox News. How much more judgemental could you be?? At least the other anons are being judgemental towards a person who shares their lives on a blog, you don't know one darn thing about these people.

Please stop making conservatives look bad they do that all to well on their own.

Conservatives are against welfare for able bodied adults. Liberals are fine with everyone getting welfare. Do some research before you spout your garbage. Emily and Dan are welfare queens. They get EIC and medical care for their brood.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [JFK September 14, 1960]

Liberals are not fine with everyone getting welfare. We just aren't over concerned with worrying about having to pay a few extra cents on our paychecks if it means a child will get the chance to eat a meal that day. I'm not spouting garbage. Just because you don't agree with it.

I do wonder what you think of CORPORATE welfare. I know corporations are like God to some conservatives but Emily taking EIC is no worse than my rich business owner friend who writes EVERYTHING off as a business expense. He probably pays for less than welfare families pay. Not only that his other rich business owner friends all trade services so he lives in a $400,000 house he spent $60,000 for. He also doesn't work, he hires people underneath him to work as contractors so he doesn't have to give them benefits.

Emily could take far more from the gov't than what little she takes. She is trying to be self sufficient. I think that is the point some of the "liberal" anons are trying to say. Her way of life is fine for her and her husband if that's what they choose but their kids did not choose this life and it's unfair for them. We really are fine with our tax paying dollars to go to those adorable children if it means she can turn the oven on and cook them some wholesome meals and buy some more fresh fruits and veggies.

Only conservatives would demonize poor people on welfare. It's okay for tax payers money to kill people in wars, death penalty etc but God forbid it feed poor people like Jesus asked us to do.

So half want her to go on food stamps and the other half are on her case for taking EIC?

Nuts.

I have a feeling that many of these anonymous posters have never been poor. It's impossible for some people to believe that someone could be happy without a $2000 a month mortgage. 17 years ago when my daughter was born, my husband was earning minimum wage and I couldn't bare to put my baby in daycare so I didn't. We lived on a whopping $3.85 an hour. After our son was born eighteen months later, my husband got a job that paid $6.00 an hour and we literally had a party to celebrate. It felt like winning the lottery.

I have no idea of Emily posts things or opens comments to earn more money. It's not something I would do, but I don't like confrontation. I do think it's pretty hypocritical for anyone to critize her for being poor and then also critize her for trying to make money. How does that make sense?

liveoncejuicy, I was thinking of starting a "Sign the Petition" page where people could sign one of two petitions. One would be for me to get food stamps, the other would be for me to send back my EIC check.

If you got enough votes to accept food stamps, would you actually do it? Or is this just a game? Because if you will actually get your babies and yourself some food, I would love to participate in that poll as I'm sure a lot of others would as well.

I don't care about you accepting the EIC either. Although I do think it should go towards things like food and dental for the children, and not tuition for Dan's unaccredited "college"

I also think that when you get such a lump sum back every year, it is a little misleading to call your blog "Under 1000 per month" because that money counts too.

My comment was a specific response to the person in "front" of my comment who talked about letting daycare "raise" kids.

As a working mom, that's the most offensive comment that I hear regularly. I work to provide things that are necessities to my family, like health insurance, dental care, a home.

We work hard. One of us *could* theoretically be home to "raise" our kids, but that would put us in a very precarious situation, which we're not willing to risk with a child. So it's a bit frustrating to hear that I'm not raising my child, while there are people out there who "choose" to be home, having multiple children while my tax money is funding their health insurance.

Do I begrudge children from getting medical care, or healthy food? Never. Do I begrudge parents for making choices to live in a way where they choose NOT to provide their own children with health insurance, yet are happy to take the state coverage? Yes. Bottom line is that Maine is not called the "welfare state" for nothing - we have a lot of people who "choose" to stay home while the rest of us provide necessities for their families. (And I know Emily does not collect anything beyond insurance, so I am not even referring to her in this statement)

I would never, in a million years, want a child to go hungry or without medical care, even if I were paying out of my own pocket for it...however I reserve the right to be upset that I can't afford child #2 b/c daycare costs too much when more than 1/3 of my income goes to taxes, and a big chunk is going to provide insurance for my family...yet that remaining bit? Yeah, we *do* need that to keep afloat.

... Well I came over to comment on the recipe, not the welfare. We tried it a few nights ago and it worked out great!! We used the regular whole wheat four... I guess that's the red, but it still was so good.

My first try I over cooked the tortilla and ended up breaking it into crackers for my husband to snack on while I was cooking dinner. He was trilled to snack while I cooked. The tortilla recipe is such a no-brainer, why buy them when you can make them? It doesn't take that long and saves you $. Thanks Emily!

Also just commenting on the actual post :) Thanks for the quesadilla filling suggestions! I have a very time consuming job outside of the home, so I'm going to stick with my storebought all natural wheat tortillas . :) I never thought of using cream cheese but I can see how that would be great.

Emily,I have been meaning to try the recipe since you posted it, and I finally did. THANK you! We love tortillas for lots of things...wraps, quesadillas, tacos. I couldn't believe how easy this was. I had actually looked for homemade tortilla recipes some time back and never tried any. I don't know that any of them were quite this east! :)

And by the way, thanks for the blog. I find lots of useful information here.